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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. GRAUERT.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

N0. 305,175, Patented Sept. 16, 1884.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. GRAUERTV ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 16, 1884.

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E. GRAUERT.

ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

No. 305,175. Patented Sept. 16,1884.

UNITED STATES ATENT error...

EDGAR GRAUERT, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 305,175, dated September 16, 1884.

' Application filed June 8, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDGAR GRAUERT, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-Arc Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to certain improvements in electric-arc lamps of that class in which a solenoid with a vertically-movable hollow core is employed, that serves, in connection with suitable mechanism, to raise or lower the upper-carbon holder.

The invention consists, essentially,of a main solenoid having ahollow core inclosing the upper-carbon holder, and means by which the same is either raised, retained, or dropped.

It consists, secondly, of means for short-circuiting the lamp by a vertical side armature of the main solenoid, an oscillating contact spring, an auxiliary solenoid and its armaturelever, which latter has a wedge-shaped insulating-arm that breaks the contact of said spring with an upright post; and it consists, further, of certain details of construction, as will more fully appear hereinafter, and finally be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 represent, respectively, a front and a side elevation of my improved electric-are lamp, the inclosing-casing being shown in section. Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of my improved lamp, the upper part being shown in section. Figs. l and 5 represent detail views and sections of modified forms of the lowercarbon holders. Figs. 6 and 7 are a top and abottom view of the means by which the lamp is sus pended. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are details showin g the different positions of the hollow core of the main solenoid as caused by the action of the current. Fig. 11 shows a diagram of the lamp in a state of rest preparatory to being started. Fig. 12 is a diagram of the lamp, showingthe course of the current at the moment when the are is established; and Fig. 13

' is a diagram of the lamp when the carbons have burned out to such an extent that the are cannot be formed. 7

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the upper-carbon holder, which consists of a tube that is provided at its lower end with a ball, a, semi-socket a, and a friction-spring, o The upper carbon is supported between the friction-spring a and the lower part of the semi-socket a, as shown clearly in Fig. 8. The upper-carbon holder A is balanced by a hollow cylindrical weight, a, suspended by a cord, a, that passes over fixed pulleys a on per end by a serewcap, a having a hook or eye, a, by which the lamp may be suspended from posts or otherwise when burning in the open air. Vhen'the lamp is to be used inside, it is readily attached by means of fixed posts N and P at the top of the lanip-casing B to a circular support, B, applied to the ceiling. The support B has arc-shaped slots b' wit-h enlarged portions at one end for the entrance of the enlarged heads I) of the posts N and']?. The lamp is then turned on its axis, so that the posts N and P pass along the arc-shaped slots 1) until they arrive at the opposite ends of the same, where they are engaged by the bent ends of the retaining-springs I), as shown clearly in Fig. (3. The lamp is thereby suspended in rigid positionfrom the ceiling, while it may be readily detached by releasing the posts from the retaining-springs I)", returning the posts N and l to the enlarged ends of slots 21-, and then withdrawing the posts from the slots. a

The support B of the lamp is provided with a switch, B", (shown in Fig. 7,) which, when placed into contact with the terminals of the line-wires,forms a metallic connection between them and conducts the current along one of the springs b", Fig. 6, to the post P, then through the lamp, and finally along the post N and the second spring If, back to the source of electricity. WVhen the contact of the switch B with the terminal wires is interrupted the lamp iscut out. The lamp canthen be readily removed and a new one inserted in case of anyirregularii y or interruption in the working of the lamp.

The lowencarbon holder may be constructed in different ways, so as to facilitate the inser tion of the carbons without removing any parts thereof. One form is shown in Fig. 3, in which a split and threaded socket is shown that is tightly applied to the lower carbon by a tube screwing over the same. In Figs. 4 and 5 modified forms of the lower carbon holder are shown,which consist, respectively, of a semi-eylindrical socket or check, which is pressed upon the lower carbon by means of a clainping'spring applied to brackets of said check, as shown in Fig. 1-, or of a check with side brackets and a transverse locl ing-wedgc, as shown in Fig. 5. lly releasing the socket or check of the lower holder, AP, a new carbon may be readily inserted and firmly held in. position. The upper carbon is held by the friction of the semi-cylindrical socket to at one side and of the spring at at the other side, so as to be always directly above the lower car bon.

The lamp mechanism proper is arranged at the inside of the cylindrical casing B. It consists of a main solenoid, 0, through which the upper-carbon holder is passed, and of a hollow cylindrical core, 0, of softiron. Thehollow core 0 is raised or lowered by the increase or decrease of the current passing through the solenoid G in the usual well-known manner. To the core 0 is applied a regulating mechan ism, which consists of a lever d, that is i'ul' crumed to a brass ring, d, secured to thelower end of the core 0. The inner rounded oft end of the lever d enters through a vertical slot, (7?, at the lower end of the hollow core C, so as to engage the upper-carbon holder A. The outer end of the lever (Z is provided with aweight, (1, and with a bent spring, (1, which spring first extends outwardly and then inwardly, and which is provided with a tension-regulatin g screw, (13. The upper free end of the spring (7. forms contact with a glass plate, 0, attached to the bottom of the solenoid 0 when the core 0 is raised by the action of the current. plied below the balance-weight d to a fixed horizontal bracketplate, (i said set-screw lifting the lever (2, so that its end clears the car bonholder A whenever the core 0 is lowered far enough toprod uce the contact of the weight d and set-screw (1. As the'inner end of the fulerumed lever d is rounded off, it is obvious that the upper-carbon holder can be moved freely downward through the core, or the core moved in upward direct-ion along the carbonholder, without interference by the lever d. The dropping of the core 0, however, is prevented, as the weight (2 causes the lever (Z to press instantly upon the upper-carbon holder. If the lamp is at rest, the core 0 rests upon the iixed bracket-plate d, and the balanceweight (2 of the lever (Z on the set-screw (1 as A set-screw, d, is ap-' shown in Fig. 8, whereby the outer end of the lever d is lifted somewhat and its inner end released from the carbon-holder. so that the same can be raised or lowered in the core without the least interference. \V hen a current passes through the solenoid G, the core G is lifted and drawn in upward direction away from the bracket-plate d. The core 0 moves along the suspended and balanced upper-carbon holder A without engaging the same until the spring d of the lover (I! is brought in contact with the glass plate (1, whereby a pressure is exerted upon the lever d,whieh causes it to press against the carbonholder A- As the magnetic attraction of the solenoid on the core is stronger than the pressure ot' the spring (7, on the lever (l, the core 0 is drawn up still farther until the pressure of the lever on the lower-carbon holder is increased to such an extent that the core carries the carbon-holder along, as shown in Fig. 9. This causes the separation of the carbon points and the establishment of the voltaie are between them, as shown .in Fig. 12. With the increasing distance and resistance between the carbon points, the influence of the current on the core is weakened, so that it sinks down with the carbon-holder in the position shown in Fig. 10. The spring d touches then the glass plate c but slightly, and the core and carbonholder respond in'nnediately to the variations of the current in the solenoid 0, so that the lamp performs its work in a uniform and regular manner until thecarbonsare consumed. During the regular functioning of the lamp the core never reaches that position again which it had assumed at the beginning of the operation. the core to that extent can only take place when the carbon points either approach closely to each other, which, however, does not occur often; but even if it should be the case, the increased influence ot' the solenoid on the core overcomes instantly the spring of the lever, so that the core and carbon-holder are lifted,and an arc of proper size is reestablished. During the regular functioning of the lamp, the spring (2" recedes only then from the glass plate (7,, when the resistance of the are becomes too' great, so that the core and carbon-holder dcscend until the solenoid draws up the core again, leaving the carbon-holder in its position until the spring d forms contact again with the glass plate d",'when the carbon-holder is also raised again, and so on. The core G is provided, at a point diametrically opposite to that at which the lever (Z is arranged, with a pin, cl", that is connected by a spiral spring, d wit-h an adjustable screw post, d, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, bymcans of which the proper distance between the carbon-holders is regulated. The core 0 and the lifting-leverd are shown in Fig. 8 in a position of rest when the lamp is thrown out of action. In Fig. 9 the core is lifted to its full extent at the moment when the current passes through the car- (Shown in Fig. 1).) The lifting of vertical concavo-convex armature, E, which the downwardly-bent end of the spring E hens and forms the arc, while in Fig. 10 the positions of the corc-and lever are when the lamp is in regular working equilibrium. When the upper carbon is burned entirely and the carbon-holder A is at its lowest position, the balancingweight a has arrived immediately below the pulleys a. To insert a new carbon it is first necessary to release the lever d fromthe upper-carbon holder, for which purpose a short additional downward motion of the carhon-holder is required, by which the core is brought back to its position of rest, as shown in Fig. 8, and the lever (I released therefrom. This downward motion of the carbon-holder is accomplished by means of a centrally-recessed or forked weight, a that rides on the transverse supporting-bars of the pulleys a, as shown in Fig. 3, and extends downward at both sides of the same far enough that the balanceweight a" may abut against the lower end of the same, and by lifting it admit the up ward passage of the balancing-weight. a until stopped by the pulleys a. By this arrangement the downward motion of the carbonholder has been rendered possible, so that the lever d is released and the core 0 dropped down on the bracket-plate d. The carbon holder A can now be pushed up to its full eX- tent and a new carbon inserted into its clamping-socket without the least difficulty.

At one side of the solenoid C is arranged a is attached to a lever, E, fulcrumed to one of the supporting-lugs of the bottom plate of said solenoid O. The lower end of said armaturelever E is connected by laterally-extending pins e with a slotted spring, E the upper downwardly-bent end of which forms contact with the laterally-extending arm f of a fulerumed armature-lever, F, of an electro-magnet, F, which latter forms, with the spring E" and the armature-lever F, a device for short eircuiting the lamp. When the lamp is in operation, the vertical armature E is drawn against the solenoid O, and the spring E drawn back by the pins 6 6, so that a large separating-space is formed between the upwardlyextending post at of the bracketplate d and The armature of the short-circuiting solenoid F is attracted atthe same time, and thereby the lateral wedge-shaped arm f of insulating material of the armature-lever F raised above the post d and spring E-. The armature-lever F is further provided with an adjustable weight, f, for producing the quick dropping of the lever F at the proper moment. If the resistance of the arc increases by the burning off of the carbon points, or for any other reason, the exterior armature, E, of the main solenoid C will recede slowly from the same, and thereby the contact-spring E will be gradually brought closer to the post at. If the resistance between the carbon points increases to such a point thatthe arc is at the point of being rate the armature from the core, even in case of weak currents; but if the current should be intentionally interrupted at any point of the circuit, both the armature E and the armature of the solenoid F would be instantly released. As the insulating-arm fot the armature-lever F has a shorter distance to pass through than the contactspring E", and as the armature-lever, being weighted, moves with greater speed than the contactspring, which is governed by the lever-arm E of the slowlyreceding armature E, the insulating beveled arm f will be interposed between the contact spring E and the vertical post (1 before the former can touch the latter, whereby they are separated from each other. The speed of the armature-lever F is regulated by the adjustable balanceweight f, so that thereby the proper working of the lever is secured.

The course of the current in my electriearc lamp is as follows: WVhen no current passes through the lamp, the carbons are in contact, the hollow core is at its lowest position, and the armature-lever of the short circuiting solenoid dropped, so as to separate the contact-spring E and post as shown in Fig. 11. At this moment, when the lamp is placed into circuit, the current passes from the binding-post P, and is then partly conducted through a spring contact-brush, G, to the upper-carbon holder A, and partly through a branch wire that is connected directly to the bracket-plate d", as shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13. This branch wire serves, however, simply as a safety device for the purpose of guarding against any irregular working of the contact-brushG. From the upper-carbon holder A and the upper carbon the current passes to the lower carbon and lower-carbon holder, and from the same along one of the supporting-rods of the lamp in upward direction and through the main solenoid C, then through the short-circuiting solenoid F, and finally to the binding-post N and the 1inewire, as shown clearly in Fig. 12. The are is thereby established, the current flowing as described, while the proper size of the are is kept up.

From the wire that connects the solenoid O with the shorteircuiting solenoid F a branch wire is conducted to the bindingscrew and the contact-spring E of the short-circuiting device.

If the lamp should be extinguished for any reason the short-circuiting device is called into action, and the current passes then l'rom the binding-post I to the bracket-plate (i vertical post c, contact-spring E, along the branch wire, solenoid 11, and binding-post N to the line-wire, as shown by arrows in Fig. 13, so that the lamp is cut out without interrupting the regular working of the remaining lamps in the same series.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an electric-arc lamp, the combination of the main solenoid C, an interior hollow core, 0, an upper-carbon holder, A, within the core, means whereby the uppercarbon holder is suspended and balanced, and alever mechanism applied to the core, said lever mechanism being provided with means for engaging or releasing the carbon-holder, snbstan tially as set forth.

2. In an electric-are lamp, the combination of a main solenoid, (J, hollow core C, upperearbon holder A, passing through the said core, fulcrumed and weighted lever (Z, having an adjustable spring, (2, glass contactplate d, and regulating set screw (7 substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the main solenoid 0, interior hollow core, 0, upper-carbon holder A within the core 0, an oscillating armature, E, at the side of the main solenoid, armatnre-lever1 having lateral]y-projecting pins 0 e, contact-spring E, engaged by said arma' tare-lever, sh ort-circuiting solenoid F, weighted armaturelever F, having a lateral arm, f, of insulating material, and bracket-plate (1 having a vertical contaetarm, (1, substantially as set forth.

l. The combination of the main solenoid 0, vertical armature E, located at the side of said solenoid, eontact-spring E, engaged by the lever B of said armature, bracket plate d, having a vertical arm, (1, short cireniting solenoid F, weighted armature-lever ll", having a laterally-extending insulating-arm, f, that is interposed between the contact-arm d, and

spring E or lifted clear of the same for short circuiting, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the main solenoid 0, interior hollow core, npper-carbon holder A, lever mechanism applied to the core for engaging or releasing the carbon-holder, means for balancing the upper-carbon holder, and a forked movable top weight that is lifted by the balance-weight of the upper-carbon holder, so as to release the latter from the lever mechanism of the core for inserting a new carbon pencil, substantially as specified.

(5. In an electricare lamp, the combination of the upper-carbon holder A, having a spherical terminal, a ball-shaped send-socket, It a, applied to one side of the carbon, and a ccn tlally-hinged clamping-spring, a applied to the other side of the carbon, substantially as described.

7. In an electric-arc lamp, the combination of thelampeasing 3, binding-posts N and Il,

having enlarged heads b, fixed annular sup-' port 13, having guide-slots I), and binding springs I)" b, substantially as set forth.

8. In an electric-arc lamp, the combination of lamp'easing l3, binding-posts Nand I, having enlarged heads I), fixed annular support B, having gniiile-slots If I)", retaining-springs h b, and a pivoted switch, 13*, by which the lamp is thrown in or out of circuit, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\Vitnesses:

PA UL (I; 0 mm L, CIIAS. G. WILLIAM. 

